Rhys, Also, About
Two Years Afterwards, Intending To Disinherit His Own Daughter, And
Two Granddaughters And Grandsons, By A Singular
Instance of divine
vengeance, was taken prisoner by his sons in battle, and confined in
this same castle; thus justly
Suffering the greatest disgrace and
confusion in the very place where he had perpetrated an act of the
most consummate baseness. I think it also worthy to be remembered,
that at the time this misfortune befell him, he had concealed in his
possession, at Dinevor, the collar of St. Canauc of Brecknock, for
which, by divine vengeance, he merited to be taken prisoner and
confined.
We slept that night in the monastery of St. Dogmael, where, as well
as on the next day at Aberteivi, we were handsomely entertained by
prince Rhys. On the Cemmeis side of the river, not far from the
bridge, the people of the neighbourhood being assembled together,
and Rhys and his two sons, Malgon and Gruffydd, being present, the
word of the Lord was persuasively preached both by the archbishop
and the archdeacon, and many were induced to take the cross; one of
whom was an only son, and the sole comfort of his mother, far
advanced in years, who, steadfastly gazing on him, as if inspired by
the Deity, uttered these words:- "O, most beloved Lord Jesus Christ,
I return thee hearty thanks for having conferred on me the blessing
of bringing forth a son, whom thou mayest think worthy of thy
service." Another woman at Aberteivi, of a very different way of
thinking, held her husband fast by his cloak and girdle, and
publicly and audaciously prevented him from going to the archbishop
to take the cross; but, three nights afterwards, she heard a
terrible voice, saying, "Thou hast taken away my servant from me,
therefore what thou most lovest shall be taken away from thee." On
her relating this vision to her husband, they were struck with
mutual terror and amazement; and on falling asleep again, she
unhappily overlaid her little boy, whom, with more affection than
prudence, she had taken to bed with her. The husband, relating to
the bishop of the diocese both the vision and its fatal prediction,
took the cross, which his wife spontaneously sewed on her husband's
arm.
Near the head of the bridge where the sermons were delivered, the
people immediately marked out the site for a chapel, {133} on a
verdant plain, as a memorial of so great an event; intending that
the altar should be placed on the spot where the archbishop stood
while addressing the multitude; and it is well known that many
miracles (the enumeration of which would be too tedious to relate)
were performed on the crowds of sick people who resorted hither from
different parts of the country.
CHAPTER III
Of the river Teivi, Cardigan, and Emelyn
The noble river Teivi flows here, and abounds with the finest
salmon, more than any other river of Wales; it has a productive
fishery near Cilgerran, which is situated on the summit of a rock,
at a place called Canarch Mawr, {134} the ancient residence of St.
Ludoc, where the river, falling from a great height, forms a
cataract, which the salmon ascend, by leaping from the bottom to the
top of a rock, which is about the height of the longest spear, and
would appear wonderful, were it not the nature of that species of
fish to leap: hence they have received the name of salmon, from
salio. Their particular manner of leaping (as I have specified in
my Topography of Ireland) is thus: fish of this kind, naturally
swimming against the course of the river (for as birds fly against
the wind, so do fish swim against the stream), on meeting with any
sudden obstacle, bend their tail towards their mouth, and sometimes,
in order to give a greater power to their leap, they press it with
their mouth, and suddenly freeing themselves from this circular
form, they spring with great force (like a bow let loose) from the
bottom to the top of the leap, to the great astonishment of the
beholders. The church dedicated to St. Ludoc, {135} the mill,
bridge, salmon leap, an orchard with a delightful garden, all stand
together on a small plot of ground. The Teivi has another singular
particularity, being the only river in Wales, or even in England,
which has beavers; {136} in Scotland they are said to be found in
one river, but are very scarce. I think it not a useless labour, to
insert a few remarks respecting the nature of these animals - the
manner in which they bring their materials from the woods to the
water, and with what skill they connect them in the construction of
their dwellings in the midst of rivers; their means of defence on
the eastern and western sides against hunters; and also concerning
their fish-like tails.
The beavers, in order to construct their castles in the middle of
rivers, make use of the animals of their own species instead of
carts, who, by a wonderful mode of carnage, convey the timber from
the woods to the rivers. Some of them, obeying the dictates of
nature, receive on their bellies the logs of wood cut off by their
associates, which they hold tight with their feet, and thus with
transverse pieces placed in their mouths, are drawn along backwards,
with their cargo, by other beavers, who fasten themselves with their
teeth to the raft. The moles use a similar artifice in clearing out
the dirt from the cavities they form by scraping. In some deep and
still corner of the river, the beavers use such skill in the
construction of their habitations, that not a drop of water can
penetrate, or the force of storms shake them; nor do they fear any
violence but that of mankind, nor even that, unless well armed.
They entwine the branches of willows with other wood, and different
kinds of leaves, to the usual height of the water, and having made
within-side a communication from floor to floor, they elevate a kind
of stage, or scaffold, from which they may observe and watch the
rising of the waters.
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